Twenty-seven-year-old Kayla (Gudmundson) Floyd distinctly remembers when she saw an advertisement on TV promoting the Ironman triathlon in Kona, Hawaii in October of this year. 

 

She has always been a great long-distance runner and enjoys swimming leisurely and biking, so she put it in her memory bank while she went about her daily life.

 

Little did she know that ad would spring up in her mind and propel her to one of her greatest life’s moments.

 

Kayla, a Becker native and 2009 BHS graduate, got married in May of 2015 and moved to Tampa, FL. to establish a home in her husband Matt’s home state. After graduating from Winona State University in 2013 with a degree in nursing, Kayla continued her daily rituals of running, biking and swimming and found herself entering 5K’s, 10k’s, half-marathons and marathons. 

 

But Kona was always on her mind.

 

Kona stretches almost two-thirds of the entire West side of the island of Hawaii and is to home the “super bowl” of Ironman competitions called the Ironman World Championship. An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation, consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile run, raced in that order on one day and without a break. 

 

In 1978, U.S. Naval Commander John Collins and his wife Judy proposed combining Oahu’s 2.4 mile swim race, 112 mile bike race and 26.2 mile marathon. Feb. 18 of that year, 15 competitors, including Collins, traveled to Waikiki to take on the first-ever Ironman challenge. 

 

This year, 2018, will be the 40th anniversary of the challenge.

 

Ironman has a foundation that works with dozens of non-profits to raise awareness and educate others about their causes. A few of the non-profits include Save the Children, Make-A-Wish, World Vision, Reserve Aid and Team Fox for Parkinson’s Research.

 

It was through this foundation that Kayla was awarded the opportunity to participate in this year’s Kona Ironman. She was training for the Ironman in Canada when she made a monetary donation to the foundation, unaware of the foundation’s policy of choosing 10 random people who donated a chance to compete in Hawaii. Over 1,000 people made donations leading up to the selection and Kayla happened to be one of the 10.

 

“I was shocked,” said Kayla. “Some people just showed up at my house and brought me a lei and a huge sign and told me I was selected.”

 

That day, Kayla started making plans for the Kona Ironman and began her grueling training.

 

Two-thousand athletes make the roster of participants in the Kona Ironman. Kayla’s age group in the event would be between 26-29 with the bulk of the athletes ranging in ages from 35-45.

 

Kayla was a track star and cross-country athlete at Becker and Winona State, so the running part of the triathlon was not her biggest concern. After all, running a marathon is right up her alley, but having to swim 2.4 miles and bike 112, Kayla knew she had her work cut out for her.

 

To compete in the biking phase, Kayla got the best carbon-fiber bike she could afford. The brand was Felt and it’s aerodynamic quality was exactly what the professionals were using.

 

The gear each racer competed in had to be purchased by each athlete including the  triathlon suit, sunglasses, bike helmet and, of course, the shoes. Kayla likes to run in her Saucony Kinvaras that are lightweight and strong.

 

Though she was selected to participate in the Kona Ironman, that didn’t mean the costs for the event were paid for. Kayla had to come up with thousands of dollars to cover the entry fee ($900), the shipping of her bike ($500), plus airfare, lodging and meals. She took up extra shifts at work to cover the expenses.

 

Kayla planned to be out there a week before and after the race and was thrilled to hear she had plenty of supporters willing to make the trip with her to cheer her on.

 

“My mom and dad (Scott and Linda), Matt (husband), my sister (Erika) and brother and sister-in-law (Yana and Steve) came out there with me,” Kayla said.

 

Through all her training (with coach Doug Guthrie), Kayla felt confident, anxious and nervous about her date with the island course. She trained for the distances, the altitudes and the terrain but there was one thing that she couldn’t really train with.

 

The wind.

 

“Along that shoreline was some of the strongest gusts of wind that made the biking very treacherous,” she said. “It kicked my butt.”

 

Kayla also struggled at times with nausea and couldn’t keep her food down.  She said she was burning thousands of calories and didn’t have enough in the tank to overcome it. After the biking part, she was consoled by her family after she didn’t finish as well as she had hoped.

 

“Huge thank you to my support crew,” she said. “112 frustrating miles on that bike didn't look good on me, but a little hug gave me enough strength to run another 26.2.”

 

It took Kayla a little over an hour for the swim, six-plus hours on the bike and around four hours for the marathon. She finished 40th out of 50 in her age group.

 

“I was a little disappointed, but then my dad reminded me that I just beat out 10 of the world’s greatest athletes,” Kayla said.

 

Kayla says she hopes to go back to Kona real soon — only this time earning it by placing in the top field at a national event. She has her sights on the April 28 Ironman event in Texas as her first shot at gaining a place in Kona in the fall of 2018.

 

“I really want to make it on my own merit this time,” she said. “I need a good time so I’ll be working hard to try and get a spot.”

 

Kayla’s efforts have inspired many people including her family and friends and one such friend from high school, Kelsey Smith, is using Kayla’s influence to train for the Colorado Ironman in June.

“I think it’s great that she feels motivated to  go for it,” Kayla said.

 

Kayla and her husband Matt live in Tampa with Matt working as a legislative assistant to GOP Sen. Dana Young. Kayla is a cardiac ICU nurse at Florida Hospital, Tampa.